STUDENTJOB BLOG

You’ve completed university and now it’s time to put all the knowledge you’ve accrued to lasting use by securing full-time employment. After several years of intense work to achieve a third level qualification, writing a CV would seem like a fairly routine task. In truth, it is one with which a staggering amount of graduates struggle, as evidenced by the shocking repetition of fundamental errors in numerous CVs.

Research has shown that recruiters have precious little time to spend reading your CV, so you need to wow them right from the start. It’s like speed dating, except the end goal is to secure a job rather than another person’s heart. It’s not necessarily the case that recruiters are actively seeking reasons to reject candidates so ruthlessly, but with only an average of three minutes to read a CV due to the stacks of applications sent their way, you can’t really blame them for being so hasty in turning applicants down, especially when the applicants give them a perfect excuse for doing so.

Furthermore, it seems that many job seekers are falling for the same mistakes repeatedly. One out of every three job seekers has applied for at least five jobs without hearing a response, while one in 10 has applied for more than 50 vacancies without reply. That is soul-destroying, but the harsh reality is that the majority of this 10% of job seekers aren’t giving themselves a fair chance because their CV contains at least one glaring mistake.

If you do find yourself in the position of being a recent graduate who is now attempting to make a seamless transition from education to employment, you can edge yourself ahead of most of your competition for jobs by taking the time to ensure that your CV is flawless. The infographic below from Ayers contains a series of suggestions for turning your CV from average to astounding.